David. You know him as the man after God’s own heart. (1
Samuel 13:14) You also may remember him as the psalmist (Psalm 3, 7, 18, 34,
51, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 142), the adulterer (2 Samuel 11:2-5) and the murderer
(2 Samuel 11:14-17)… Do you remember him, though as the one that wanted to
build a Temple for the Lord—and that he was denied? (2 Samuel 7:1-17) David
recognized that his treasures all came from God. And he recognized that the
Lord deserved so much more than he had for himself. Therefore, he began
collecting and setting aside treasures for the Lord’s Temple (to be constructed
by his son Solomon). He not only gathered his own belongings, but he urged
others to do so as well. (1 Chronicles 29:1-20) v5: “Now then,
who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?” He
knew that those that loved the Lord would (should) have no qualms about giving
their offerings to Him. (Psalm 26:8) And the people gave willingly (v6, 9)

My question to you is: Are you sacrificing your treasures to God? To your church? To your congregation?

Not a single person in your church
(outside of possibly your Pastor)
inconveniences themselves to the point of discomfort. Is this biblical? [Do we
even care church?] I’m sure (most of) you realize that the Bible clearly states
giving to the church. (Proverbs 3:9-10, Matthew 22:21, 1 Corinthians 16:2) Let
me break it down in layman’s terms; plain and simple: you are stealing from God
(Malachi 3:8-12), subsequently your Pastor, and in return you are robbing yourself and the rest of your church. (Matthew
21:12-13) [Note: giving to missions should be separate from your giving to the
church (Acts 2)]

We
don’t belong to us; we belong to God. (1 Corinthians
6:19-20)

Being a Christian is more than just a
name. We’re supposed to sacrifice our lives to Jesus, as He sacrificed His for
us (John 3:16-17). That means giving Him all that we have (our money/resources,
our time, our relationships—everything…)
If we don’t, we are nothing. (Isaiah 64:6, John 15:5, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3,
Galatians 2:20). If you believe in the work of your church, then give
generously as God has prospered you, out of love for Him. (2 Corinthians 8, 9)
And FYI—in case you’re confused or in doubt—your church not only needs you, your church is
you.